Genus Cerotainia - Micropanthers

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Works Cited

unknown robber fly - Cerotainia albipilosa

Unknown tiny Hymenoptera or Diptera - Cerotainia

small dark robber fly with prey - Cerotainia

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Orthorrhapha)

Superfamily Asiloidea

Family Asilidae (Robber Flies)

Subfamily Laphriinae

Genus Cerotainia (Micropanthers)

Explanation of Names

Cerotainia Schiner 1868

Micropanthers: https://www.robberfliesoftheworld.com/NA_CommonNames.php

Numbers

1-2 spp. in our area (see below), 38 total(1)

DNA confirms albopilosus valid GenBank #468706 Common in Canada.

DNA confirrms macrocera valid GenBank #1717379 Rare in Canada.

Eric Fisher's comment on number of species: "Cerotainia macrocera... is the original (and possibly the only) species of Cerotainia described for the U.S.A. (by Thomas Say, in 1823). A 2nd potential sp., C. albipilosa Curran, was described in 1930, and it has much more white hair [...]. However, there is still no certainty as to whether this 'white-haired morph' is a distinct species or just a color variety. (In 85 years, no one has evidently studied this question and published any results...) The possible 3rd Cerotainia in the USA is a fly, 'Cerotainia atrata Jones,' described from Nebraska in 1907. No one has ever reported on another specimen of this fly, and C. atrata is now termed to be an 'unrecognized' sp."

Size

5 to 9 mm long.

Works Cited

1.	Information on robber flies, compiled by F. Geller-Grimm

Contributed by john and jane balaban on 14 June, 2005 - 5:23pm
Additional contributions by Ben Coulter, v belov, lee_penner, Chris Cohen
Last updated 2 June, 2024 - 7:20pm

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